Dean Portman ran excitedly into his house. "Mom? Dad?" he yelled out.
"What's up Bud?" his dad, Jack Portman, asked him from the living room.
"I just got offered a full athletic and academic scholarship to Eden Hall Academy. It's some dumb prep school in Minneapolis, but I'll be with the Ducks, and it's a free ride!" Portman said.
"That's wonderful," his mom, Lynn Portman, told him with a smile.
"All I have to do is sign," Portman said, handing his parents his scholarship. "Where's Rylie?"
"Upstairs, she's not feeling well," Lynn said. "So be quieter."
"I'll try," Portman promised with a grin. He ran upstairs to see his little sister. "Hey Ry?"
"Come in," Rylie Portman called out weakly. She was eleven years old, and looked exactly like her brother-deep brown eyes, black, curly hair, and tall. She was curled up on her bed.
"Are you okay?" Portman asked her, his excitement draining. His sister looked really sick, and had been for the past two or three weeks.
"Yah, just tired," Rylie said.
"Sure, Rag, and I'm the wizard of oz," Portman teased her, calling her his nickname for her.
"Shut up Teeg, no one asked you," she said, smiling. "What's up?"
"I got awarded a full athletic and academic scholarship to Eden Hall Academy," he told her proudly.
"Where's that?"
"Minneapolis," Portman said. "Now here's your chance to get ride of me!"
Rylie laughed, then absently scratched her arm. "Yup, of course, I always wanted that."
"Ry, are you sure you're okay?" Portman asked her, holding up her hand. It was swollen.
"No," Rylie admitted quietly. "I have been feeling horrible. I have this headache I can't shake, and I'm so tired, but I can't sleep. I feel like I have this big rash, but I don't. My hands are swollen."
"Come on Rag," Portman said softly, full of worry. He picked her up. "I'm having mom and dad take you to the hospital to get looked at." ~~~ "What is it?" Portman asked his mom as she came into the waiting room.
"They aren't sure. They ran some tests, but they're admitting her tonight. She is asking that you stay with her, but I told her-"
"That I would, right?" Portman interrupted. He was glad none of the Ducks were around, they probably would have laughed at him for being so worried. But this was his baby sister, so this was different. "Mom, I can't just go home."
"I know, baby, I know," she said. She hugged him. "I told her you wouldn't, I wouldn't let you, but I will."
"Thank you," Portman whispered. ~~~ "Dean, Fulton called for you," James said to his son the next day. He had gone home to get some clothes for all of them, and to pick up some food.
"And?" Portman asked, crankily.
"Call him, I talked to the nurses, it's extra money to call long distance, but we don't care," James said.
"Plus, Rylie wants to talk to him!" Rylie said in a little voice.
"Rylie, you've never talked to him before," Portman said, tapping Fulton's number out.
Rylie shrugged. "You make him sound cute."
"No. One, you're too young, and two, his my friend. No," Portman told her with a grin. Rylie laughed. "Is Fulton there?"
"Hey man!" Fulton's voice came through the phone a minute later. "You called at a perfect time!"
"Why?" Portman asked.
"Hold on," Fulton said. He tipped the phone towards his room, and all at once, the Minnesota Ducks yelled, "HI PORTMAN!"
Portman chuckled at Rylie, who jokingly grabbed her ears. "Hi everyone."
"What's up?" Fulton continued.
"Nothing, I'm bored," Portman said, in truth.
"Oh. We're all hanging out. We wanted to know if you wanted to come up like, three days earlier? Everyone up here wants to go camping in Banksie's backyard, and Julie and Russ both want too. We haven't gotten a hold of Dwayne, Ken, or Luis yet, but we thought it'd be cool. Kind of like a remembering of last year, ya know?" Fulton asked.
Portman winced. "I dunno Fulton, I want to, but I don't think I'll be able too. Sorry, dude."
"Oh," Fulton said, disappointed.
"Sorry," Portman apologized again. A couple of doctors walked into Rylie's room. "Hey, I really hate to cut this short, but I have too. I'll call you again when I have a chance, okay?"
"Sure, later," Fulton said. He hung up.
"I'm Dr. Andrews," said a bright doctor. "This is Dr. Weber. He's helping me on this case."
"What's the diagnosis?" Rylie asked. "I wanna go home."
"Honey, it'll be a couple of days, probably a week or so," Dr Andrews said. "We ran several tests, and we have figured out, that Rylie is in kidney failure."
"We're not sure why, and we're reviewing her filing extensively to try and figure that out," Dr. Weber added. He continued. "Rylie, you can survive with dialysis. Long term, you will need a transplant. Until we can find a donor that means you will need dialysis. You're diet will completely change- there will be things that, until you have the transplant, you cannot eat or drink."
"How long until we can get her a donor?" James asked, squeezing Lynn's hand. She had begun to cry.
"Because this is kidney failure, we can test anyone who has two healthy kidneys. Siblings make the best match, followed by parents, then other relatives. It's just a matter of time," Dr. Andrews said.
"You're daughter is lucky. She was brought in in the early stages, therefore, it's easier to control," Dr. Weber added.
"Do you have any other questions?" Dr. Andrews asked. Slowly, everyone in the room shook their heads. "Alright. We'll be in the offices at the end of the hall, if you need us."
"Thank you," Lynn said softly. ~~~ "I want to donate," Portman told his parents that night.
"What?" Lynn said, surprised.
"Siblings make the best donors. Please, let me donate," Portman said. "Rylie's my sister, and I love her. I want to do this."
"But your scholarship? You won't be able to go, if you donate. School starts in 10 days!" James said.
"Rylie is more important," Portman said. Inside, he was upset about missing on the school, but he also felt happy for doing something for his sister. 'Like I said, Rylie IS more important,' he reminded himself.
"If your sure," Lynn said, doubtfully. ~~~ "Hey!" Fulton said on the phone. "We missed you camping! We played Nirvana, just for you!"
"Thanks," Portman said softly. He looked at the clock. His plane would have just taken off. "Listen, Fult, I know this is going to be hard, but I'm not accepting the scholarship."
"What?" Fulton cried. "Portman! You're a bash brother, you HAVE to!"
"I can't," Portman said. He thought fast. He didn't feel like explaining about Rylie. "I have a hard time adjusting to new coaches, and I don't want to try one after Bombay."
"Portman, if Charlie can do it," Fulton started.
"Look, Fulton, this is already hard on me, I miss you all. But this is something I've thought about, and it's just better that I don't come," Portman said. "I know you're mad, but you have to accept it. I'm sorry." Portman took a deep breath, and hung up the phone. ~~~ "Ugh," Rylie complained a week later. She was receiving her dialysis. "I really hate this."
"I feel for ya," Portman told her.
"So, how upset was Fulton?" Rylie asked curiously.
"Very. So was everyone else. In fact, I got a phone call from Charlie, yelling at me. Once in awhile, I wonder why I even bothered in the first place," Portman told his sister.
"Cuz then you wouldn't be on the Team USA hockey that won at the Junior Goodwill Games," Rylie told him.
Portman grinned. "Yah, but I gave that up."
"I'm so horrible, it's all my fault," Rylie said, her head lowering guiltily.
"Rag, I gave it up because I wanted to. Not because you made me," Portman said gently.
"But-"
"Don't argue with me, no matter what, I'm still your older brother, and I can still beat you up, and I'm still always right," Portman said with a smile. "But believe me, it was NOT you, okay?"
"Okay," Rylie said, with a small smile. ~~~ "You're a match, the surgery's tomorrow at one," James told Portman.
"Okay," Portman said. He looked up from his computer, where he was reading another email from an angry team member.
"Talk to Rylie, we already talked to her, but she's upset about something. We can't get it out of her, but we know you can, so talk to her," James told him.
"Kay," Portman agreed. He exited, then walked across the hall to his sister's room. "Hey Rag."
"Teeg, I'm scared," she said immediately.
Portman sat down on her bed. "You'll be just fine. Don't forget, I'm going to be right there, too, Rylie. I'm not letting anything happen to you."
"Promise?" Rylie said, looking up at him.
"I promise," he agreed, hugging her. ~~~ "It was a very successful surgery," Dr. Andrews told Lynn and James with a smile. "Rylie and Dean are in the same room, as you requested. Dean will wake up within the hour, Rylie give her two or three. We need to keep Dean overnight, Rylie will be here two or three days, depending on how she responds with the medication."
"Thank you," Lynn said. James squeezed her shoulder.
"Any questions, you know where my office is," Dr. Andrews added. ~~~ "Rylie! You can't check like that!" Portman said, laughing. A week and a half later, and Rylie was acting like nothing happened. She just checked him into a fence as they were playing hockey in their driveway.
"I can and did," she said proudly.
"I taught you well," he said. He stole the puck from her, and shot it into their makeshift goal. "You lose."
"At least I know you still like hockey," said a voice behind them.
Portman whipped around. "Coach Bombay? What are you doing here?"
"Saving your butt, and helping your team," Gordon said. "They need you back. But before I convince you to come back, I want to know one thing. Why?"
Portman studied his old coach for a minute. Then he put his arm around Rylie's shoulder. "Her."
Gordon raised his eyebrow. "Please, explain."
"This is Rylie. She's 11. She's my little sister," Portman began. "A few weeks ago, the day we got offered the scholarships, we took her to the hospital. The next day, she was diagnosed as being in kidney failure. I'm her brother-the best chance at a match. So I tested."
"And matched," Gordon finished.
"Perfectly," Portman agreed. He lifted his shirt, and revealed a bandaged area. His stitches would come out later that day, when his mom picked him up to take him.
"I understand," Gordon said. "But the team needs you."
"They never needed me," Portman said. "I was never really a Duck, you know? They never actually accepted me, I'm just there for their protection."
"Portman, I know they were upset when you left, but a lot of stuff has been happening. If you knew what was going on, you'd forgive anything horrible they've done to you since the beginning of the year," Gordon said quietly.
Portman glared at him for a minute, then let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. Let's go inside. Ry, you don't mind, do you?"
"Nope," Rylie answered. She beat Portman and Gordon inside, and ran up to her room.
"Want something to drink?" Portman asked, grabbing a bottle of water.
Gordon shook his head as he sat down. "Just wanna talk."
"I'm listening," Portman said.
"First off, you need to know. It was actually the main reason I came down," Gordon began. Hurt crossed his features. "Hans died a few days ago."
Portman looked shocked. He hadn't know Hans that well-he knew Jan a lot better-but it still hurt to hear that Hans had died. Hans had been a big part of the Ducks, and was a big part of him.
"It was hard on everyone, you're not alone," Gordon added quickly. "They're all there, if you need someone to talk to."
"I doubt they'd talk to me," Portman muttered softly.
"They would. They've been so mad at you because they're upset. One, because I left. The new coach, Ted Orion, was pretty hard on them the first couple of weeks. He stripped Charlie of his C. That kind of shocked them all," Gordon continued. "Which is mostly why Charlie has been so mean. Then, he put Adam up on Varsity. That drew some big lines, and everyone went nuts after that. Especially after the prank wars, which led to an unofficial JV- Varsity game. Up to now."
Portman sat there, taking in what his coach had told him.
"The board was going to revoke their-your scholarships. I had to dig them out. Now I'm here. The next JV-Varsity game is this Friday. They need you back," Gordon said. He stared at Portman. "Please, go back for them."
Portman sighed. "I don't know, Coach..."
"Go," Rylie said from the kitchen door. Portman and Gordon turned to her. "Dean, just go." ~~~ "Okay, the locker room is right there," Gordon said. He pointed the locker room out to Portman. "You have your gear. There's going to be a locker, somewhere by Adam's I think. Ask your Coach."
"Does he know I'm here?" Portman asked.
Gordon shook his head. "Just you, me, and your family."
"Right," Portman agreed. "Thanks, Coach."
"Just remember, have fun," Gordon said with a smile. He patted Portman on the back, then walked away.
Portman took a deep breath, and pulled out his scholarship. He walked calmly into the room. "Dean Portman is awarded a full athletic scholarship to Eden Hall Academy. I had this lying around my house, my attorney thought I should sign it. I agreed. It's official boys, I'm back!" he said. A smile hit his face when his team came up to him, cheering.
"It is worth it," he thought to himself, as he yelled out comments to his team, to keep them spirited. "I'm glad he talked me into it."
"What's up Bud?" his dad, Jack Portman, asked him from the living room.
"I just got offered a full athletic and academic scholarship to Eden Hall Academy. It's some dumb prep school in Minneapolis, but I'll be with the Ducks, and it's a free ride!" Portman said.
"That's wonderful," his mom, Lynn Portman, told him with a smile.
"All I have to do is sign," Portman said, handing his parents his scholarship. "Where's Rylie?"
"Upstairs, she's not feeling well," Lynn said. "So be quieter."
"I'll try," Portman promised with a grin. He ran upstairs to see his little sister. "Hey Ry?"
"Come in," Rylie Portman called out weakly. She was eleven years old, and looked exactly like her brother-deep brown eyes, black, curly hair, and tall. She was curled up on her bed.
"Are you okay?" Portman asked her, his excitement draining. His sister looked really sick, and had been for the past two or three weeks.
"Yah, just tired," Rylie said.
"Sure, Rag, and I'm the wizard of oz," Portman teased her, calling her his nickname for her.
"Shut up Teeg, no one asked you," she said, smiling. "What's up?"
"I got awarded a full athletic and academic scholarship to Eden Hall Academy," he told her proudly.
"Where's that?"
"Minneapolis," Portman said. "Now here's your chance to get ride of me!"
Rylie laughed, then absently scratched her arm. "Yup, of course, I always wanted that."
"Ry, are you sure you're okay?" Portman asked her, holding up her hand. It was swollen.
"No," Rylie admitted quietly. "I have been feeling horrible. I have this headache I can't shake, and I'm so tired, but I can't sleep. I feel like I have this big rash, but I don't. My hands are swollen."
"Come on Rag," Portman said softly, full of worry. He picked her up. "I'm having mom and dad take you to the hospital to get looked at." ~~~ "What is it?" Portman asked his mom as she came into the waiting room.
"They aren't sure. They ran some tests, but they're admitting her tonight. She is asking that you stay with her, but I told her-"
"That I would, right?" Portman interrupted. He was glad none of the Ducks were around, they probably would have laughed at him for being so worried. But this was his baby sister, so this was different. "Mom, I can't just go home."
"I know, baby, I know," she said. She hugged him. "I told her you wouldn't, I wouldn't let you, but I will."
"Thank you," Portman whispered. ~~~ "Dean, Fulton called for you," James said to his son the next day. He had gone home to get some clothes for all of them, and to pick up some food.
"And?" Portman asked, crankily.
"Call him, I talked to the nurses, it's extra money to call long distance, but we don't care," James said.
"Plus, Rylie wants to talk to him!" Rylie said in a little voice.
"Rylie, you've never talked to him before," Portman said, tapping Fulton's number out.
Rylie shrugged. "You make him sound cute."
"No. One, you're too young, and two, his my friend. No," Portman told her with a grin. Rylie laughed. "Is Fulton there?"
"Hey man!" Fulton's voice came through the phone a minute later. "You called at a perfect time!"
"Why?" Portman asked.
"Hold on," Fulton said. He tipped the phone towards his room, and all at once, the Minnesota Ducks yelled, "HI PORTMAN!"
Portman chuckled at Rylie, who jokingly grabbed her ears. "Hi everyone."
"What's up?" Fulton continued.
"Nothing, I'm bored," Portman said, in truth.
"Oh. We're all hanging out. We wanted to know if you wanted to come up like, three days earlier? Everyone up here wants to go camping in Banksie's backyard, and Julie and Russ both want too. We haven't gotten a hold of Dwayne, Ken, or Luis yet, but we thought it'd be cool. Kind of like a remembering of last year, ya know?" Fulton asked.
Portman winced. "I dunno Fulton, I want to, but I don't think I'll be able too. Sorry, dude."
"Oh," Fulton said, disappointed.
"Sorry," Portman apologized again. A couple of doctors walked into Rylie's room. "Hey, I really hate to cut this short, but I have too. I'll call you again when I have a chance, okay?"
"Sure, later," Fulton said. He hung up.
"I'm Dr. Andrews," said a bright doctor. "This is Dr. Weber. He's helping me on this case."
"What's the diagnosis?" Rylie asked. "I wanna go home."
"Honey, it'll be a couple of days, probably a week or so," Dr Andrews said. "We ran several tests, and we have figured out, that Rylie is in kidney failure."
"We're not sure why, and we're reviewing her filing extensively to try and figure that out," Dr. Weber added. He continued. "Rylie, you can survive with dialysis. Long term, you will need a transplant. Until we can find a donor that means you will need dialysis. You're diet will completely change- there will be things that, until you have the transplant, you cannot eat or drink."
"How long until we can get her a donor?" James asked, squeezing Lynn's hand. She had begun to cry.
"Because this is kidney failure, we can test anyone who has two healthy kidneys. Siblings make the best match, followed by parents, then other relatives. It's just a matter of time," Dr. Andrews said.
"You're daughter is lucky. She was brought in in the early stages, therefore, it's easier to control," Dr. Weber added.
"Do you have any other questions?" Dr. Andrews asked. Slowly, everyone in the room shook their heads. "Alright. We'll be in the offices at the end of the hall, if you need us."
"Thank you," Lynn said softly. ~~~ "I want to donate," Portman told his parents that night.
"What?" Lynn said, surprised.
"Siblings make the best donors. Please, let me donate," Portman said. "Rylie's my sister, and I love her. I want to do this."
"But your scholarship? You won't be able to go, if you donate. School starts in 10 days!" James said.
"Rylie is more important," Portman said. Inside, he was upset about missing on the school, but he also felt happy for doing something for his sister. 'Like I said, Rylie IS more important,' he reminded himself.
"If your sure," Lynn said, doubtfully. ~~~ "Hey!" Fulton said on the phone. "We missed you camping! We played Nirvana, just for you!"
"Thanks," Portman said softly. He looked at the clock. His plane would have just taken off. "Listen, Fult, I know this is going to be hard, but I'm not accepting the scholarship."
"What?" Fulton cried. "Portman! You're a bash brother, you HAVE to!"
"I can't," Portman said. He thought fast. He didn't feel like explaining about Rylie. "I have a hard time adjusting to new coaches, and I don't want to try one after Bombay."
"Portman, if Charlie can do it," Fulton started.
"Look, Fulton, this is already hard on me, I miss you all. But this is something I've thought about, and it's just better that I don't come," Portman said. "I know you're mad, but you have to accept it. I'm sorry." Portman took a deep breath, and hung up the phone. ~~~ "Ugh," Rylie complained a week later. She was receiving her dialysis. "I really hate this."
"I feel for ya," Portman told her.
"So, how upset was Fulton?" Rylie asked curiously.
"Very. So was everyone else. In fact, I got a phone call from Charlie, yelling at me. Once in awhile, I wonder why I even bothered in the first place," Portman told his sister.
"Cuz then you wouldn't be on the Team USA hockey that won at the Junior Goodwill Games," Rylie told him.
Portman grinned. "Yah, but I gave that up."
"I'm so horrible, it's all my fault," Rylie said, her head lowering guiltily.
"Rag, I gave it up because I wanted to. Not because you made me," Portman said gently.
"But-"
"Don't argue with me, no matter what, I'm still your older brother, and I can still beat you up, and I'm still always right," Portman said with a smile. "But believe me, it was NOT you, okay?"
"Okay," Rylie said, with a small smile. ~~~ "You're a match, the surgery's tomorrow at one," James told Portman.
"Okay," Portman said. He looked up from his computer, where he was reading another email from an angry team member.
"Talk to Rylie, we already talked to her, but she's upset about something. We can't get it out of her, but we know you can, so talk to her," James told him.
"Kay," Portman agreed. He exited, then walked across the hall to his sister's room. "Hey Rag."
"Teeg, I'm scared," she said immediately.
Portman sat down on her bed. "You'll be just fine. Don't forget, I'm going to be right there, too, Rylie. I'm not letting anything happen to you."
"Promise?" Rylie said, looking up at him.
"I promise," he agreed, hugging her. ~~~ "It was a very successful surgery," Dr. Andrews told Lynn and James with a smile. "Rylie and Dean are in the same room, as you requested. Dean will wake up within the hour, Rylie give her two or three. We need to keep Dean overnight, Rylie will be here two or three days, depending on how she responds with the medication."
"Thank you," Lynn said. James squeezed her shoulder.
"Any questions, you know where my office is," Dr. Andrews added. ~~~ "Rylie! You can't check like that!" Portman said, laughing. A week and a half later, and Rylie was acting like nothing happened. She just checked him into a fence as they were playing hockey in their driveway.
"I can and did," she said proudly.
"I taught you well," he said. He stole the puck from her, and shot it into their makeshift goal. "You lose."
"At least I know you still like hockey," said a voice behind them.
Portman whipped around. "Coach Bombay? What are you doing here?"
"Saving your butt, and helping your team," Gordon said. "They need you back. But before I convince you to come back, I want to know one thing. Why?"
Portman studied his old coach for a minute. Then he put his arm around Rylie's shoulder. "Her."
Gordon raised his eyebrow. "Please, explain."
"This is Rylie. She's 11. She's my little sister," Portman began. "A few weeks ago, the day we got offered the scholarships, we took her to the hospital. The next day, she was diagnosed as being in kidney failure. I'm her brother-the best chance at a match. So I tested."
"And matched," Gordon finished.
"Perfectly," Portman agreed. He lifted his shirt, and revealed a bandaged area. His stitches would come out later that day, when his mom picked him up to take him.
"I understand," Gordon said. "But the team needs you."
"They never needed me," Portman said. "I was never really a Duck, you know? They never actually accepted me, I'm just there for their protection."
"Portman, I know they were upset when you left, but a lot of stuff has been happening. If you knew what was going on, you'd forgive anything horrible they've done to you since the beginning of the year," Gordon said quietly.
Portman glared at him for a minute, then let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. Let's go inside. Ry, you don't mind, do you?"
"Nope," Rylie answered. She beat Portman and Gordon inside, and ran up to her room.
"Want something to drink?" Portman asked, grabbing a bottle of water.
Gordon shook his head as he sat down. "Just wanna talk."
"I'm listening," Portman said.
"First off, you need to know. It was actually the main reason I came down," Gordon began. Hurt crossed his features. "Hans died a few days ago."
Portman looked shocked. He hadn't know Hans that well-he knew Jan a lot better-but it still hurt to hear that Hans had died. Hans had been a big part of the Ducks, and was a big part of him.
"It was hard on everyone, you're not alone," Gordon added quickly. "They're all there, if you need someone to talk to."
"I doubt they'd talk to me," Portman muttered softly.
"They would. They've been so mad at you because they're upset. One, because I left. The new coach, Ted Orion, was pretty hard on them the first couple of weeks. He stripped Charlie of his C. That kind of shocked them all," Gordon continued. "Which is mostly why Charlie has been so mean. Then, he put Adam up on Varsity. That drew some big lines, and everyone went nuts after that. Especially after the prank wars, which led to an unofficial JV- Varsity game. Up to now."
Portman sat there, taking in what his coach had told him.
"The board was going to revoke their-your scholarships. I had to dig them out. Now I'm here. The next JV-Varsity game is this Friday. They need you back," Gordon said. He stared at Portman. "Please, go back for them."
Portman sighed. "I don't know, Coach..."
"Go," Rylie said from the kitchen door. Portman and Gordon turned to her. "Dean, just go." ~~~ "Okay, the locker room is right there," Gordon said. He pointed the locker room out to Portman. "You have your gear. There's going to be a locker, somewhere by Adam's I think. Ask your Coach."
"Does he know I'm here?" Portman asked.
Gordon shook his head. "Just you, me, and your family."
"Right," Portman agreed. "Thanks, Coach."
"Just remember, have fun," Gordon said with a smile. He patted Portman on the back, then walked away.
Portman took a deep breath, and pulled out his scholarship. He walked calmly into the room. "Dean Portman is awarded a full athletic scholarship to Eden Hall Academy. I had this lying around my house, my attorney thought I should sign it. I agreed. It's official boys, I'm back!" he said. A smile hit his face when his team came up to him, cheering.
"It is worth it," he thought to himself, as he yelled out comments to his team, to keep them spirited. "I'm glad he talked me into it."